She's into muscle cars

Conde postmaster helps husband, son restore vehicles at family business

Conde postmaster helps husband, son restore vehicles at family business

November 12, 2007|By Sarah Ottney, American News Writer

Elaine Mack of Clark can usually be found behind the counter of the Conde post office - or under the hood of a muscle car. She became interested in restoring cars while working at Mack's Standard Service gas station in Clark as a teenager - a station now owned by her husband, Bob. His father owned it when Mack worked there in high school. She and her husband and son, John, 21, own about 22 cars, mostly Mopars, including six muscle cars. Her favorite is a bright red 1969 Dodge Charger RT. "It's just a hobby that we enjoy," Mack said. "It's rewarding when people walk by and go, 'Wow, look at that.'” Mack said they sometimes take the cars to area shows, like Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, but someday she would like to take them to bigger shows, farther away. Mack's two daughters - Sheila Poppen, 27, of De Smet and Kristin Mack, 24, of Watertown - don't partake in the family hobby. "They always talk about doing it, but don't," Mack said. "But they like to drive them and look at them." Mack said their goal is to buy and sell the cars, but more often than not, they find they can't part with them. "We could start a museum with all those," she said. "We'll have to start selling sometime." Big switch: Mack, 48, has been in the postal service for about 26 years, 14 of them as the postmaster at Conde. Before that, she worked in Clark, Rapid City and Black Hawk. "It's a good job. It's interesting. You get to meet a lot of people," she said. The mail comes already sorted in bigger cities, but, at Conde, Mack sorts it herself, a job that takes about an hour and a half every day. Coming to Conde from the Rapid City area was a big switch. "It's kind of quiet here," she said. "But sometimes it gets hectic here, too, believe it or not." Not-quite-empty nest: Mack's son lives in Bradley - although most of the time he can be found in her kitchen. Mack said she doesn't mind. "Soon enough, I'll be old and lonely, wishing someone would visit," she said. Mack enjoys spending time with her two grandsons and is looking forward to retiring in a few years. "I'd like to travel around, be a free spirit," Mack said. "But I'll probably just end up helping my husband at the station. That won't be so bad."